Milnor \(K\)-groups and finite field extensions (Q1868423): Difference between revisions

Let \(K_n(F)\) denote the \(n\)th Milnor \(K\)-group, which is the group generated by symbols \(\{a_1,\dots,a_n\}\), \(a_i \in F^{*}\), subject to being additive in all entries, and zero if \(a_i + a_j = 1\) for some \(i,j\). The main result of this elegant paper is that if \(E/F\) is a separable field extension of dimension \(< 2^{m+1}\), then for every \(n \geq m\), \(K_n(E) = K_{n-m}(F) K_m(E)\). Namely, \(K_n(E)\) is generated by symbols in which the first \(n-m\) entries are in \(F\). Furthermore, an example is given to show that \(m\) is minimal with this property. This result was proved by \textit{A. S. Merkur'ev} [Commun. Algebra 11, 2611--2624 (1983; Zbl 0555.13001)] for \(K_2\) and extensions of dimension \(2\) or \(3\).